Alyson Leigh Young

Uses and Gratifications of Social Media: A Comparison of Facebook and Instant Messaging

Users have adopted a wide range of digital technologies into their communication repertoire. It remains unclear why they adopt multiple forms of communication instead of substituting one medium for another. It also raises the question: What type of need does each of these media fulfill? In the present article, the authors conduct comparative work that examines the gratifications obtained from Facebook with those from instant messaging. This comparison between media allows one to draw conclusions about how different social media fulfill user needs. Data were collected from undergraduate students through a multimethod study based on 77 surveys and 21 interviews. A factor analysis of gratifications obtained from Facebook revealed six key dimensions: pastime, affection, fashion, share problems, sociability, and social information. Comparative analysis showed that Facebook is about having fun and knowing about the social activities occurring in one’s social network, whereas instant messaging is geared more toward relationship maintenance and development. The authors discuss differences in the two technologies and outline a framework based on uses and gratifications theory as to why young people integrate numerous media into their communication habits.

PRIVACY PROTECTION STRATEGIES ON FACEBOOK: The Internet privacy paradox revisited

The privacy paradox describes peoples willingness to disclose personal information on social network sites despite expressing high levels of concern. In this study, we employ the distinction between institutional and social privacy to examine this phenomenon. We investigate what strategies undergraduate students have developed, and their motivations for using specific strategies. We employed a mixed-methods approach that included 77 surveys and 21 in-depth interviews. The results suggest that, in addition to using the default privacy settings, students have developed a number of strategies to address their privacy needs. These strategies are used primarily to guard against social privacy threats and consist of excluding contact information, using the limited profile option, untagging and removing photographs, and limiting Friendship requests from strangers. Privacy strategies are geared toward managing the Facebook profile, which we argue functions as a front stage. This active profile management allows users to negotiate the need for connecting on Facebook with the desire for increased privacy. Thus, users disclose information, because they have made a conscious effort to protect themselves against potential violations. We conclude that there is a tilt toward social privacy concerns. Little concern was raised about institutional privacy and no strategies were in place to protect against threats from the use of personal data by institutions. This is relevant for policy discussions, because it suggests that the collection, aggregation, and utilization of personal data for targeted advertisement have become an accepted social norm.

Re)defining Land Change Science through Synthetic Research Practices

This paper investigates the co-evolution of scientific practice and supporting technologies for the interdisciplinary research community of Land Change Science. Through three and a half years of iterative fieldwork and system design, we have developed a deep understanding of their synthetic research practices, specifically regarding meta-studies. Here we detail the challenges researchers face conducting meta-studies and how this collective effort advances the entire scholarly community. We illustrate how our understanding of this synthetic research practice informs the design and refinement of cyberinfrastructure to better support their work.

Designing a system for land change science meta-study

In this work-in-progress paper, we present GLOBE, a system that enables the quantitative comparison and synthesis of local case study data to support meta-analyses of global environmental change. Using data from a workshop on the state-of-the-art of meta-study in the land change science research community, we highlight the limitations of current approaches and illustrate how our system can be designed to enhance data accuracy and produce globally relevant results.

Playing with leadership and expertise: military tropes and teamwork in an arg

Ad-hoc virtual teams often lack tools to formalize leadership and structure collaboration, yet they are often successful. How does this happen? We argue that the emergence of leadership and the development of expertise occurs in the process of taking action and in direct response to a lack of structure. Using a twinned set of eight modality sliders, we examine the interactions of fourteen players in an alternate reality game. We find that players adopted military language and culture to structure and arrange their play. We determine that it is critical to account for the context of play across these modalities in order to design appropriately for effective in-game virtual organizing.

Exploring infrastructure assemblage in volunteer virtual organizations

This ongoing research project investigates ad-hoc infrastructure development in volunteer virtual organizations (VVOs). A comparative analysis of the tool appropriation of VVO activity among alternate reality game (ARG) players in three cities yielded insight for future research into underlying principles of infrastructure assemblage, types of ad-hoc resource provisioning, and potential means of design support.

Collaborative interpretation in land change science meta-studies

This article presents preliminary findings from an ongoing study of collaborative knowledge creation in the land change science (LCS) research community. Using observational data from two international workshops on LCS meta-study practice, we document the challenges to current approaches highlighting the need for direct interaction with case study authors. Results from the study are being used to enhance the meta-study process through GLOBE, new scientific cyberinfrastructure for users to share, compare, and synthesize local and regional data.

The militarization of teamwork in alternate reality gaming

This ongoing research project examines ad-hoc virtual teamwork in playful environments. Our results suggest that alternate reality game (ARG) players devise leadership structures spontaneously over short periods of time, in response to a lack of formal structure. In the ARG we studied, teams self-structured around tropes of military culture, going so far as to adopt military ranks to describe team roles and individual statuses. Our findings have implications for effective in-game virtual organizing, and for the design of gameful environments.

Qualitative analysis of user experience in a 3D virtual environment

This paper describes elements of user experience of a collaborative 3D immersive virtual information management environment. We detail those elements that are seen to both improve and deteriorate user experience, and provide design guidance for researchers and designers. We designed the 3D virtual environment in the Virtual Collaboration Arena (VirCA) collaborative space specifically to study the collaborative information retrieval and management behaviors of users. We conducted 117 interviews and then analyzed the data using a qualitative content analysis to identify the main elements of user experience. While participants generally reacted positively to the environment, they also mentioned a few distracting usability problems. Applying the results in the further development of VirCA can create a higher level of user experience and more effective collaboration.

The Solicitation Situation: Examining the Language of Team Science in Federally-Funded Research

This paper is part of an ongoing research project that investigates the socio-technical infrastructure required for successful team science. A comprehensive analysis of 96 grant solicitations provided a representation of how U.S. federal agencies conceptualize and communicate team science. This research has implications for the management and evaluation of team science projects.